Dr. Peter McGrath obtained his BSc (honors) in Agricultural Zoology from the University of Glasgow, UK, and followed this with a PhD from the University of Leeds, UK, in 1989. His 10-year research career focused on the insect transmission of plant viruses and included postdoctoral positions at the Scottish Crop Research Institute as well as Purdue University and the University of Arizona in the USA.

Returning to the UK in 1997, he established his own business as a freelance journalist focusing on agricultural, environmental and scientific issues. He joined TWAS in 2003 as writer/editor in the Public Information Office; and from 2006, began overseeing the implementation of TWAS’ capacity-building programs, including South-South fellowships and other exchange schemes, research grants and various awards, as well as the activities of the Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World (OWSD). During this time he helped expand these programs as well as developed new partnerships and activities, including the EU-funded EuroAfrica-ICT project (2009-2012), and acting as the liaison person for TWAS’ involvement in the Solar Radiation Management Governance Initiative (SRMGI), for example.

In 2013, he switched to the InterAcademy Partnership (IAP), the global network of 150 academies of science, medicine and engineering. As IAP Coordinator, he oversees the IAP Trieste-based secretariat and acts as liaison person for the IAP Science Education Programme and the IAP Biosecurity Working Group.

He also retains his position as coordinator of the TWAS science diplomacy initiative, including representing TWAS in the EU Horizon2020-funded S4D4C project and in the subsequent EU Science Diplomacy Alliance network.

Title: One Plus One Equals Seventeen

Abstract

Scientific excellence underpins our modern society. It is an essential input into the food we eat, the healthcare we receive, and the technology we use in our daily lives.

However, the benefits of advances in science are not shared equitably around the goal. To tackle this issue, in 2015 UN Member States agreed to a set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to be attained by 2030. Again, science underpins many of the targets of the SDGs – think of SDG#6 “Clean Water and Sanitation” or SDG#7 “Affordable and Clean Energy”. Science alone cannot solve these issues. Likewise, the science is strong on climate change and biodiversity loss, but action on tackling them is lagging behind. To reach the targets of SDG#13 “Climate Action”, SDG# 14 “Life Below Water” and SDG#15 “Life on Land” requires us to ally data and scientific knowledge with negotiations and trade-offs between competing interests, often between nation states. In other words, to achieve sustainable development we need to employ the tool of science diplomacy to tackle these so-called “complex” or “wicked” issues.

In the Arab region, such complex issues include water security, which is linked to agricultural production and thus to food security (SDG#2 “Zero Hunger”), the potential of solar energy, even how to tackle migrating human populations (SDG#11 “Sustainable Cities and Communities”).

In other words, without “One” (Scientific Excellence) plus “One” (Science Diplomacy) we will never be able to achieve the “Seventeen” Sustainable Development Goals.